When there’s a need in a sector, good entrepreneurs step up to fill it. Great ones become royalty. For 50 years, Cappuccino King has earned the moniker, bringing Italian craftsmanship and coffee to Calgary.
The Izzo family emigrated from Italy in 1968 and, missing his home country, Vincenzo (Vince) Izzo opened Napoli Sports Club, the city’s first Italian social club/café catering to immigrants a few years later. To make patrons feel truly at home he wanted to bring in more tastes of Europe that were sorely lacking in the city.
“My dad said, ‘why not start importing some of our espresso products that people here in Canada don’t have?’ There was a longing for real coffee, and Calgary didn’t have a coffee scene at all,” says Peter Izzo, president of Cappuccino King.
The Izzo’s Italian-inspired café offered great food and incredible coffees and by the 1980s, Vince, the Cappuccino King of Calgary, had started importing commercial models of Italian espresso machines for sale to allow people to brew their own. He also brought Napoli to Calgary through his Italian restaurant, La Dolce Vita. Even in the restaurant business, few establishments had commercial espresso machines or quality beans for them. The entrepreneur again looked for solutions and found them with a roaster in Toronto who helped Vince formulate a recipe to brew the perfect espresso.
The importing business was run out of the Izzo’s basement and the children were raised being part of the operation. His son, Peter, helped out wherever needed and as he grew up, he absorbed the nuances and recognized the potential of the enterprise, but never saw it as a career path for himself. Once Peter graduated, Vince turned to the next generation to take the importing business from a small family affair to a full-fledged business.
“There was a crossroads where my father said, ‘it’s time for you to either join the business or I’m going to move on and do something different.’ So at 24, my wife Kellie and I came in and took over the importing business and really started to change it in the early 1990s,” Peter says.
Peter worked alongside his father to transform the company from a family project that brought in products for their Italian friends into a thriving business at the forefront of the burgeoning coffee scene in the 1990s. With the proliferation of coffee chains, coffee went mainstream and more people were looking for products beyond the simple drip coffee of the 1980s. By 1998, Peter had established a retail location for the importing business, introduced technology to the operation, hired staff and built on his father’s relationships to grow the business. Vince didn’t understand the fast-paced business environment nor did he want to, so he officially turned over the reins to Peter so he could run with it. Peter built a facility on 23 Avenue NE that could showcase the quality machines for commercial and personal use and the rebranded company tipped its hat to the founder when it became Cappuccino King Ltd.
Since then, Peter has continued to evolve the company, fostering long-time partnerships with the best manufacturers in the world like Elektra, Rancilio, Jura and Franke to provide customers with quality equipment. About 80 per cent of Cappuccino King’s business is commercial, providing machines and coffee programs along with service and maintenance to hotels, restaurants and cafés; the company’s factory-trained technicians are the best in the business and Peter has a crop of dedicated young professionals developing their skills in this niche area. He also often consults with designers and architects to help their clients create a suitable layout for baristas that is both efficient and ergonomic.
“We provide a full turn-key operation for anybody looking to open a business or have a coffee program that goes with it,” he says.
Cappuccino King facilitates programs for some large companies including McDonald’s McCafé program, offers its own products in Calgary Co-op in-store cafés, and is currently working with Kinjo Sushi & Grill on their breakfast program and creating a coffee program for the Calgary Flames. Huge coffee companies like Lavazza and illycaffé also lean on Peter and his team for local service and maintenance when they enter his market.
The company covers everything coffee, with a line of all-natural Monin flavourings that add anything from peppermint to lavender, salted caramel to ube to beverages, a selection of cups and milk pitchers, and quality tampers. These products are amazing, but it’s the coffee that remains at Cappuccino King’s core. Vince’s original Classico recipe continues to be the company’s best-selling blend and Peter complemented this bold, earthy European-inspired blend with a decaffeinated version as well as Classico Forte, a darker roast with fruity notes that is more of a North American flavour profile conducive to this region’s large-volume coffee-to-go nature.
“We don’t do 40-ounce drinks in Europe. It’s a moment, a time out. It’s cultural. You sit down, have an espresso or cappuccino and a quick conversation with someone and then you move on. Then you stop again and have another moment with someone else. You don’t carry it with you for the rest of the day,” Peter says.
Cappuccino King has found a balance between its European roots and North American preferences, and the result is a loyal clientele that loves coffee as much as the Izzos. Vince built the company on relationships and handshakes and that remains the foundation on which Peter operates today. Cappuccino King has decades-long relationships with suppliers and manufacturers and each are proud to be part of the others’ successes. Peter also has a great relationship with his loyal and dedicated team of 10 who join Peter, Kellie and son Vince (who brings his culinary skills to the café programs) to be part of the Izzo extended family. Their youngest son, Evano, is currently earning his business degree and may join the family business after graduation.
Having a family business not just survive but thrive for 50 years is not something the Izzos take lightly. Through the ups and downs of the past half-century, Cappuccino King has evolved with the times without losing the personal touches that keep clients coming back. Clients drive from across the city to get their coffee beans or regularly order online from across the country to support the business. For that, the Izzos are thankful.
Time has flown by and the 50th anniversary gives them a chance to look back at the business and plan for the future, whether that has the third generation expanding the business beyond the city or continuing to be the king of Cappuccino in Calgary. At the core is the customers who have stayed loyal and allowed the company to grow, so Peter wanted to commemorate the milestone by doing something special for them.
“We teamed up with Daniel at Bridgeland Distillery to create a product we could hand to our customers. My father enjoyed brandy so we created Brandy Caffe, a blend of Daniel’s Gold Medal brandy and my dad’s Italian roast coffee,” Peter says. “I think my dad would be proud.”
With incredible quality products, a long list of loyal customers and a business that has become the heart of the community, there’s no doubt that Calgary’s original Cappuccino King would be very proud indeed.
410 23 Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 1V9
(403) 277-5169 | Toll-Free 1-877-277-5169
cappuccinoking.com
